| Le Moyne Dolphins | |
| University: | Le Moyne College |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Division: | Division I |
| Director: | Mike Lindberg (interim) |
| Location: | DeWitt, New York |
| Teams: | 21 |
| Basketballarena: | Ted Grant Court in the Le Moyne Events Center |
| Baseballfield: | Dick Rockwell Field |
| Soccerstadium: | Ted Grant Field |
| Softballstadium: | Softball Complex |
| Lacrossestadium: | Ted Grant Field |
| Natatorium: | Vincent B. Ryan, S.J |
| Nickname: | Dolphins |
| Pageurl: | http://lemoynedolphins.com/ |
The Le Moyne Dolphins are the athletic teams that represent Le Moyne College, located in DeWitt, New York, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Dolphins compete as members of Northeast Conference. Le Moyne had been a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference since 1996.[1] [2] At the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Le Moyne began the transition to NCAA Division I as a new member of the NEC.[3]
More than 75 percent of students are estimated to participate in some form of athletics at Le Moyne. Le Moyne student-athletes have combined to post term cumulative grade-point averages of at least 3.0 in 42 consecutive semesters dating back to 2003 (through spring 2024).[4] Dolphin student-athletes routinely combine for term GPAs of at least 3.3 in addition to completing more than 2,500 hours of community service each year as part of The Le Moyne Way program.
As early as the second century, Christians associated the dolphin with love and tenderness. A dolphin appears on the seal of the Bishop of Syracuse, just as it was on the seal of the ancient See of Siracusa. Le Moyne named its teams the Dolphins to encourage students to look to the future, because the dolphin is a sign of comfort and union and fraternal charity. The Dolphin is a constant reminder that Le Moyne is steeped in centuries-old tradition and philosophy.[5]
The Le Moyne men's basketball team gained national attention when it defeated Division I powerhouse Syracuse 82–79 in a November 2009 exhibition game.[6] Le Moyne's women's basketball team nearly pulled a similar shocker before falling to Syracuse 73–70 in an exhibition game at the JMA Wireless Dome on November 3, 2022.
Le Moyne has long been a lacrosse power at the Division II level, earning seven men's and women's national championships in the sport. The Dolphins' men's lacrosse team captured its sixth national crown in 2021, under the leadership of head coach Dan Sheehan. Le Moyne registered its lone women's lacrosse national title in 2018.
Following a long career in senior administration at the West Point, Bob Beretta was named director of athletics on January 7, 2021. He is only the fourth director of athletics in the college's history.[7] On June 4, 2024, Beretta resigned to become the athletics director at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. Beretta's resignation is effective June 21, and the college planned to name an interim director, as the search for a permanent replacement is conducted.[4] Mike Lindberg, a Le Moyne alumnus from the class of 1979, became the Dolphins' interim athletic director on June 20, 2024. Mike served as the athletic director at Wells College in Aurora, New York from 2014-2023. Under his watch Mike was vital in the creation of the state of the art multi-purpose turf field. Along with the improvement in facilities, Lindberg also saw the Express win a few North Eastern Athletic Conference titles. Previously, he was the associate director of intercollegiate athletics at Ithaca College from 1998 to 2013 where he was a part of various conference championship and NCAA DIII National Championship teams. [8]
| Baseball | Basketball | |
| Cross country | ||
| Cross Country | Golf | |
| Golf | Lacrosse | |
| Lacrosse | Soccer | |
| Soccer | Softball | |
| Swimming and diving | Swimming and diving | |
| Tennis | Tennis | |
| Track and field† | Track and field† | |
| Volleyball | ||
See main article: Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball.
In 1960, the men's basketball team won the Middle Eastern College Athletic Association Tournament, which was hosted by Saint Peter's College at the Jersey City Armory.[9] Consolation games other than the third-place game were played at the Saint Peter's gym.[10] In the tournament, Le Moyne defeated Saint Peter's, Iona and Long Island to win.[9] [11] [12]
See main article: Le Moyne Dolphins women's basketball.
After much success in Division II, Le Moyne's baseball team reclassified to Division I in the fall of 1987.[13] The Dolphins rallied in the ninth inning to win their first game as a Division I team, 8–5, at Binghamton on September 10, 1987. Pete Stoyan's single in the final frame drove in the winning run. The Dolphins dropped the second game of the season-opening doubleheader, 4–3.[14]
The Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex houses Le Moyne College's athletic teams, visiting competitors, and coaches. Student-athletes use outdoor facilities including the Dick Rockwell Field for baseball, tennis courts, a softball complex and other fields including Ted Grant Field, completed in 2010, an athletic turf complex for lacrosse and soccer. The Niland Complex includes the Henninger Athletic Center, where basketball games and other events take place on Ted Grant Court.
Tommy Niland, namesake of the athletic complex, was Le Moyne's first athletics director and is the most significant figure in the college's athletics history. He was the first head coach of the freshman basketball team starting in the 1947–48 season, Le Moyne's initial academic year during which all students at the school were freshmen. Niland also coached Le Moyne's varsity basketball team from its inaugural season in 1948–49 until 1973, winning 326 games and going to seven NCAA College Division tournaments. He was also Le Moyne's first varsity baseball coach. After his varsity basketball coaching career ended, Niland remained in his position as Le Moyne's athletics director until his retirement in 1990. Niland also served on various NCAA regional and national committees, including the infractions committee that imposed the death penalty on Southern Methodist University's football program in 1987.[15] Niland's membership on the committee was criticized by the Dallas media, one member of which wrote, "My only suggestion to the NCAA is only people from big-time programs should sit in judgement of big-time cheaters. What could the Le Moyne AD possibly know about downtown Dallas bag men and the going price for high school running backs in Texas?"[16]
The Complex also includes the Dick Rockwell Baseball Field. Rockwell, a graduate of Ithaca College, won 757 games on the Heights between 1968 and 1996 at the Division I and II levels, going to the Division II national tournament 12 of their last 13 seasons in the division, and becoming a power in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in Division I. Rockwell also served as Le Moyne athletic director from 1990 to 2009.
The Campus also has trails behind the school that are used by the Cross Country for their home meets and other teams to train on.
| NCAA | Division II | Men's Lacrosse[17] | 2004 | Limestone | 11–10 (2OT) |
| 2006 | Dowling | 12–5 | |||
| 2007 | Mercyhurst | 6–5 | |||
| 2013 | Mercyhurst | 11–10 | |||
| 2016 | Limestone | 8–4 | |||
| 2021 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 12-6 | |||
| Women's Lacrosse | 2018 | Florida Southern | 16–11 | ||
| NCAA | Division II | Women's Swimming and Diving | 2008 | Alison Lesher | 200-yard Butterfly |
The Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex incorporates a 47000square feet facility with a 25yd competition-size swimming pool, fitness center and weight room, a three-court size multi-purpose gym area, an elevated jogging track, and four racquetball courts. It is designed primarily for intramural, recreational use, and personal fitness activities. Students can also use fitness centers which are located in several of the residence halls.
The college participates in thirteen sports on the club level: men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's field hockey, women's basketball, men's rugby, women's rugby, equestrian, fencing, rowing, ultimate frisbee, sailing, and Tae Kwon Do, in addition to cheerleading, with both men and women on the squad. All club teams are given qualified coaches, practice facilities and uniforms.[18]
The college conducts an extensive intramural program with sports and competitors that vary each year. The program usually includes: basketball (men's and women's leagues); flag football (men); indoor soccer (men's, women's and coed leagues); walleyball (coed); racquetball tournaments (coed, men's and women's divisions); volleyball (coed); softball (men's and women's leagues); and inner tube water polo (coed).[19]